The Crystal Reports Underground News - Volume 2003.05 (May 2003)
an independent source for Crystal Reports Information by Ken Hamady
Contents for May, 2003:
** Surprise Change in Crystal v9 Licensing
** Broadcast Scenarios Update
** "Best Class I've Taken.."
** Microsoft Gets Into Reporting?
** Third Party Product Updates
** The Expert's Guide to Crystal Reports Formulas
** Fax Distribution Tools
** Crystal Partners Opt Out
** My Quick Reference to Crystal Reports in Visual Basic
** Read back issues at http://www.kenhamady.com/news.html
Surprise Change in Crystal v9 Licensing:
Crystal Decisions has been telling me for several weeks to expect changes to their licensing model, and has finally announced them on their web site. The main changes revolve around the Advanced Edition which now allows you to:
1) Deploy an unlimited numbers of individual servers or applications
2) Upgrade to a Web Farm license to support interconnected apps ($5,000)
3) Do "automated distribution" without buying a separate Broadcast License
I have added a link to the summary of changes on my LINKS page (look for the items marked NEW):
http://www.kenhamady.com/bookmarks.html#lic
They have also (finally) provided a detailed description of their licensing model. However, there is one part that might mislead application developers. The section on "Thick-Client" applications makes it clear that you have free and unrestricted rights to distribute client based applications. Then, in the section under WEB distribution they have a heading entitled "Runtime redistribution" that describes the steps to register and license WEB applications. The problem is that the description and heading do not clearly indicate that these steps only apply to distributing WEB applications. You might read this and think that you have to register a client application before you distribute it.
On my links page are 3 links to the License summary, the Licensing.PDF, and a description of how RAS licenses are managed (look for the items marked NEW):
http://www.kenhamady.com/bookmarks.html#lic
Maybe it is a coincidence, but these changes could have been accelerated by 2 external factors. One is that many of my readers have begun to press CD for clarification on broadcast licensing. The second potential factor was the recent announcement by Microsoft that they are going to release something called "SQL Server Reporting Services". See the article below for more info on this.
Broadcast Scenarios Update:
In my last newsletter I discussed a user who was told he would need a Broadcast license for his web application. He contacted me - I contacted CD - and this started a detailed dialogue on broadcast licensing with CD. The user has now been officially notified that he will not need a CBL ($100,000) but will only need the Advanced Edition ($2,000) for his web application.
This is good news, but it still doesn't answer my the primary question. When exactly does a user cross the line into Broadcasting? The staff at CD had defined this for me very clearly in the Fall, but they no longer want to be held to that definition. To see how far they have shifted I have asked them to evaluate a set of written distribution scenarios, some of them contributed by my readers. The response should be ready for the June newsletter. If you haven't read it already, you can read the whole Email dialogue at:
http://www.kenhamady.com/cbl9.html
"BEST class I've taken":
This week I taught a public Intro class in Frederick, MD with students coming in from MD, VA, NJ and even FL to take the class. More than half of these students rated my class the BEST technical class they've taken. All of the rest of the class rated it "Better than Most". So, who do you want teaching your Crystal classes?
More public classes are scheduled in:
Leesburg, VA
Frederick, MD
Philadelphia, PA
Dates, course outlines and registration info are on my website at:
http://www.kenhamady.com/public.html
Or schedule a private class at your office, using your data. This is my favorite way to teach, and I charge about half of what Crystal charges. I have taught over 1500 satisfied students so far. Call for more information at (540) 338-0194.
Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services:
One of my readers pointed me to some very interesting articles about the upcoming release of Microsoft SQL Server. It is due to be released within the next year, and is supposed to include something called "SQL Server Reporting Services" (code named "rosetta"). It has been announced but the details are sketchy. It is supposed to provide the foundation for reporting applications.
According to the articles that I have found on the subject (see the link below) the announcement has already caused dips in the stock prices for several publicly traded Business Intelligence companies like Cognos and Business Objects. Crystal Decisions is privately held, so you won't see a stock dip. However, you might start to notice changes in Crystal's pricing and marketing strategies. Read more about this using the LIBRARY button above.
Third Party Product Updates:
Ido at Millet Software keeps adding interesting features to his products. This month he has added the ability to export to a PDF and transfer the Crystal Reports "group tree" into the PDF. He does this by converting the Group Tree entries into Adobe bookmarks at the time of export. This gives the user shortcuts to each section of the PDF.
Millet Software has also released a new 'light' version of the CUT UFL for generating Email from a report. The light version is essentially the same as the original CUT, but without exporting capabilities. It is only $50.
Shahrabani and Associates has released Reportal v2.5 which adds a scheduling component to their web portal.
On my LINKS page I list the 11 Crystal Reports viewer programs I have been able to find. From what I have heard, they all do an adequate job of allowing you to view reports without having CR installed. To make the comparison easier, I have added the single user price (if sold that way) for each viewer. If you have feedback (good or bad) on any of these viewers, or any other third party Crystal product, please let me know.
The Expert's Guide to Crystal Reports Formulas:
Learn to write and understand formulas like a Pro with "The Expert's Guide to Crystal Reports Formulas". I take you from the basics all the way through variables, arrays and looping logic. I explain HOW, WHY and WHEN to use these techniques and provide tips and tricks that are rarely taught in classes.
The guide includes 28 annotated reports and 45 no-nonsense pages of detailed explanations. The cost is only $36 and you can download it immediately with most Credit Cards. For more details, visit my website at:
http://www.kenhamady.com/form00.html
The Fax Distribution option:
Emailing 100 copies of an exported report each week is considered a 'broadcast', and requires a special license. But according to the CRv9 license, "distribution of paper copies by facsimile" is exempt. I will add that it says "paper copies" and says nothing about the form of the originals. This seems to indicate that you can use fax distribution software to fax hard copies, without getting into the broadcasting mess. And, faxing is still the standard communication method for many businesses. Some of my customers have recently been exploring automated FAX distribution methods. Here are 2 fax programs that have been successfully used with Crystal Reports:
Tobit Faxware - a German Fax Server that runs on both Novell and Windows Networks. It can send both fax and Email.
http://www.tobit.com/intl/
PDF Blaster - a smart printer driver that can determine the destination from the report and deliver a PDF formatted document via both fax and Email.
http://www.pdfblaster.com/
Key Crystal Partners Opt Out:
Several key Crystal Decisions partner groups have recently declined to renew their partnership agreements with Crystal Decisions. I have been told that this was due to lopsided terms in the new partner contract. It may also have been due to Crystal's practice of claiming many large corporate and government customers as "house" accounts. This change may be good news for users, since the partnership "cartel" gave Crystal Decisions a way to control product information and (to some extent) prices for services. Now that some of the best known partners are independent, I think you will find a freer flow of information.
VB Quick Reference Guide, updated for v9:
If you use Crystal Reports in VB applications, you should get my Quick Reference Guide. It gives an overview of the different integration methods, syntax examples for the most common commands and troubleshooting tips. It also comes with source code examples including a simple report viewer. It is only $16 and you can usually have it within an hour. Follow the link below for more details:
http://www.kenhamady.com/vbref.html
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Contact Information
Ken Hamady, MS
525K East Market St. PMB 299
Leesburg, VA 20176
(540) 338-0194
ken@kenhamady.com
http://www.kenhamady.com
Copyright 2003 by Ken Hamady
All rights reserved - Republishing this material requires written permission